The Use of Conceptual and Pedagogical Tools as Mediators of Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Self as Writers and Future Teachers of Writing

Examining shifts in preservice teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward writing instruction

“…Integration of self-reflection, coursework, and field practice Recent studies aimed at shifting PSTs' attitudes and beliefs about writing instruction (Batchelor, Morgan, Kidder-Brown, & Zimmerman, 2014;Grisham & Wolsey, 2011;Morgan, 2010;Norman & Spencer, 2005;Street, 2003;Tulley, 2013;Zimmerman et al, 2014) have described the importance of self-reflection, focused instruction through coursework, and field practice in order to expand PSTs' prior perceptions about teaching writing. As illustrated in the studies described below, the role of self-reflection threads through both coursework and field practice and is an important skill to nurture in PSTs, as it will be critical for their ongoing professional growth as future teachers.…”

“…Although PSTs' attitudes toward writing and beliefs about writing instruction are wellestablished by the time they enter college, research suggests their beliefs can continue to evolve if PSTs engage in critical self-reflection (Mezirow, 1990;Ng et al, 2010;Zimmerman et al, 2014), gain new knowledge about teaching writing, and practice implementing new forms of instruction. Mezirow (1990) defines critical self-reflection as the process of analyzing and challenging the validity of your assumptions and presuppositions in order to assess the appropriateness of your knowledge and beliefs given your current context.…”

“…Bandura's (2001) social cognitive theory posits that learning is influenced by participation in a social community and that learning is a product of continuous reciprocal interactions between cognitive, behavioral, and contextual factors. For instance, in addition to critical self-reflection, reciprocal interactions with college instructors and peers can challenge and expand PSTs' prior perceptions about writing and cause attitudinal shifts and changes in their beliefs (Bandura, 2001;Norman & Spencer, 2005;Zimmerman et al, 2014).…”

“…Similarly, in a synthesis of effective literacy teachers conducted by Williams and Baumann (2008), results indicated that effective writing teachers were those that used self-reflection, including sharing why they valued or did not value writing and sharing their insecurities about teaching writing. Zimmerman et al (2014) investigated the experiences of 43 early childhood PSTs and found that introducing research and theory (i.e., conceptual tools) while integrating pedagogical tools (e.g., how to organize and manage a writing workshop) and providing opportunities to practice these tools in the field had positive effects on shifting PSTs attitudes toward teaching writing. Likewise, Grisham and Wolsey (2011) found that focused instruction on writing as a process combined with classroom practice and ongoing reflection led to increases in the complexity of PSTs' knowledge about writing instruction and the practices they planned to implement in their future classrooms.…”

Rising to the Challenge

“…Many researchers looked at preservice teachers to assess their understanding as writers (e.g., Hall & Grisham-Brown, 2011;Zimmerman, Morgan, & Kidder-Brown, 2014). They found that preservice teachers did not enjoy writing, had a difficult time visualizing themselves as being effective writing teachers, and lacked confidence as writers and future teachers of writing.…”